Brendan Rodgers has implored his Celtic players to block out the background noise on Saturday – in the belief their football will then do the talking.

The Irishman has sampled some of the hottest games on the English card from his time at Swansea and Liverpool.

Despite never having attended the Glasgow derby in person, the lifelong Celtic supporter believes the weekend encounter with Rangers could be an occasion to top the lot.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers (left) is gearing up for his first Old Firm derby

Aware of the dangers of his players being adversely affected by a powderkeg atmosphere, however, Rodgers has stressed the need for his charges to stay focused on the football that has given them an early lead in the title race.

‘These are games I’ve watched and listened to all my life so to actually be involved in the pole position of the game is going to be exciting especially with the first game at home,’ he said.

‘Every derby is different. I’ve been involved in the Swansea – Cardiff derby which was really intense, the Liverpool – Everton derby which were huge games. Liverpool – Manchester United was also a huge game.

‘But this game is unique in itself. Again a very historical game between Celtic and Rangers.

‘Obviously being a supporter, I’ve felt the emotion of them. They are always tense and sometimes they are not the best football games.

‘No matter what you say to players, the whole intensity of the whole occasion can make it difficult for them.

Celtic are hoping striker Leigh Griffiths will recover from a hamstring injury to feature

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‘But our idea is to go into the game with the positivity we’ve had, with the boldness we’ve had in our game and the approach to the game and obviously look to get three points which would keep us on a winning start.

“We want to go through the season and have a real good record at home so that will be in our minds but no matter who the opponent is, when you’re at the top of the league you want to stay there. It will be a tough game with big intensity in the game but we’ll look to come through.’

Although Rodgers enjoyed a brief rest after watching his side defeat Aberdeen nearly two weeks ago to go top of the Premiership, many of his players have been engaged with international duty in the interim.

That means the Celtic manager won’t be able to fully roll out his derby day plan until today together with a revision of the work they have done since late June.

‘We’ve had some players here but won’t get them all back to Thursday which makes it slightly more difficult,’ he explained.

The sides meet for the first time since Rangers began their post-liquidation journey in 2012

‘As soon as we get back, because we’ve got one or two new players coming in, what you have to do is put in place a refresher in terms of all the work we’ve done.

‘So when all the players come back we’ll have a little session to refresh all of what we’ve worked on over the past three months and get them aligned into our way of working.

‘We’ll have a couple of sessions and get ready for the game.’

Celtic Park will welcome a capacity crowd for the first league game with Rangers in four-and-a-half years.

Rodgers’ appointment has seen crowds flocking back to the East End – and the Irishman feels their continued backing can have a big influence on the outcome of the high noon kick-off.

‘It’s been really special,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to commend the support because I asked them to come and fill the stadium and in the games we’ve played that have really meant something, it has been virtually full.

‘I commend them for that support. I think when you support Celtic, it’s not a choice.

‘When you are a Celtic supporter it’s an obligation. When the team’s playing well you support them and when it’s not playing so well you give it your support. That can lift the team.

‘We’ve seen that in these early games in the Champions League. When we went 3-2 in the Hapoel Be’er Sheva game, the crowd lifted and stayed with the team.

‘In the Astana game, they stayed with the tea. So their support is vital.

‘Hopefully, like I say, this will make for a really special atmosphere in this game.’